Today's Top Alzheimer's News

October 30, 2013

The need for more politically active elderly Americans, the state of universal healthcare across the globe, and the latest on the Alzheimer's drug pipeline (read more).

Must reads

An October 29, 2013 Wall Street Journal blog post argued that aging Americans are not as politically powerful as they should be, citing the nation's limited Alzheimer's research budget as proof. According to the post, "Consider the following facts: We currently spend upward of $10 billion annually for research into heart disease and cancer combined in the U.S., and it’s money well spent. In contrast, we spend only about $500 million on Alzheimer’s research—despite the fact that it is the costliest of all diseases, afflicting over five million Americans and millions more of their caregivers…I present these particular facts as proof positive that retirees have not yet come of age as effective advocates in social, economic or political domains compared to so many other groups. We’ve had soccer moms and Nascar dads, but no well-defined demographic of silver sages to carry the banner for age-related issues. At least not yet."

An October 29, 2013 Reuters article reported on the state of universal healthcare across the globe and emerging challenges like Alzheimer's. According to the article, "So there will be fewer economically active taxpayers in North America and Europe while there's a greater need for taxes to pay for socialized medical care.Most of these older people will be healthier than previous aging generations and they may get relief from illnesses that others didn't…More will be prone to terrible degenerative diseases, of which Alzheimer's is the most common — and most costly, at around $100 billion a year in the U.S."

Research and science

An October 29, 2013 Drug Discovery & Development article reported that pharmaceutical company Boehringer Ingelheim has begun a phase 1 Alzheimer's drug study. According to the article, "The Phase 1 study involves a single-center, partially randomized, single-blind, placebo-controlled trial to assess the safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of single ascending doses of intravenous and subcutaneous injections with the Nanobody in healthy subjects. The trial is expected to recruit 80 healthy volunteers and results are anticipated during H2 2014."

An October 29, 2013 News Medical article reported that the PNS Pharma released its 2013 US Alzheimer Drug Pipeline Analysis report. According to the article, the "market research report gives comprehensive insight on the various drugs being developed for the treatment of Alzheimer disease. Research report covers all the ongoing drugs being developed in various development phases. This report enables pharmaceutical companies, collaborators and other associated stake holders to identify and analyze the available investment opportunity in the Alzheimer drug market based upon development process." The report can be purchased here.

Why 2020?

USAgainstAlzheimer’s has retained its goal of stopping Alzheimer’s by 2020 rather than endorsing the goal of the National Plan to Address Alzheimer’s Disease that calls for preventing and effectively treating the disease by 2025. While we support the national plan and its goals, we believe, as most every family touched by Alzheimer’s disease believes, that preventing and effectively treating Alzheimer's by 2025 is simply too long a wait for concrete progress. There are promising avenues of drug discovery and development that will, if successful, deliver a means of slowing or deferring Alzheimer's symptoms by 2020. By voicing the urgency felt by so many families, we will pressure researchers and industry to do all in their power to make that happen.